One of my favorite workouts is simply using a deck of cards
and going as far as I can go. He didn't create it but he certainly gave it
greater purpose especially if you’re a combat athlete and that was Karl Gotch.
If you were to get in superior condition it was important to stick with the
fundamentals and that was squats, push-ups and bridging. With the deck, you
just shuffle them however you want and when you flip one card you do that many
push-ups or squats, face value is up to 15, Aces are 20 and Jokers are 25-50.
Numbered As Is
Aces- 20
Face Cards- 15
Jokers-25/50
Once you
have it down and you can finish the deck in a reasonable amount of time (keep
it under 45 min.), you can switch things around, make certain parts of the cards
different types of push-up and/or squats along with an abdominal exercise or
maybe add in pull-ups that’ll be an ass kicker. It’s good to switch things up,
keep the body working in different directions and ways that’ll keep your heart
rate up and challenging your body to a different degree. My shortest time with
the cards ever was just over 21 min. and that’s cruising, that’s just on
various push-ups and squats, however with only 4 exercises it takes me just
under 45 min. at a time.
Gotch
always found that conditioning was the base for every combat sport and in
general all sports for that matter. You can do all the techniques in your sport
all you want but if you can’t last very long on the mat or on the field even on
the court you might as well walk out the door. Another legendary sports figure
whose conditioning training helped bring a series of championships was the late
John Wooden of NCAA Basketball lore at UCLA. If his guys weren't up to par to
stay in the game efficiently, they didn't get to play much, it was this golden
rule that put his teams in the best of the best during the 60’s and 70’s that
had Hall Of Famers such as Kareem Abdul Jabarr and Bill Walton. This type of
training gives your workouts a twist because it’s never the same every time so
there’s no guess work it’s just there.
When it
comes to timing, you should attempt to finish the deck with as little rest as
possible to the point where you’re just zooming like lightning. In the
beginning, you might need to rest after a few cards to catch your breath and
let the tension out because of the lactic acid build up. Each workout should
have a little less rest than the last time so you can build that endurance and
your mental strength. A key component to learn is that after a while, your form
might be a little off, this happens often so do your best to keep your form as
best as possible because if you start to get sloppy, it’s going to bite you in
the ass.
If you want
to jump up to a level of conditioning that is different and a bit more hardcore
than doing reps, do the deck in an Isometric format. You’re probably wondering
“how the hell do you do that?” Instead of doing reps, you hold a certain
position for time either for a few seconds or a few breaths for example, you
got a 5 and it’s a squat, you can hold a horse stance or wall sit and hold for
5 seconds or take in 5 breaths. Jokers are a killer and you’d be in great shape
if you can hold a position for up to 50 breaths but 50 seconds is still ok. This
takes your body to a level most never dare go to. At best this kind of workout
can take as long as an hour or more, that’s a lot of trying to hold still.
The deck
can work in many ways and no matter how you do it, if you can do the whole deck
you’re in reasonably good shape. Gotch took to a level only a small group has
ever achieved and that’s doubling the number of squats and kept the push-ups as
is. I once read he did the deck twice in a row, no wonder he was a beast on the
mat. It’s a lot of fun to work on and you can do it just about anywhere at
anytime. See how you do it and how it can work for you.
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